Secrets Within the Mind
by shadowblade-tara
Summary: Shadows Within. Hotch and Reid meet a couple of strangers who can explain why Reid is so special. The answer is stranger than either of them imagined.


Criminal Minds © CBS.

Part 7 of the Shadows Within Saga. And for those of you who follow both fandoms, you probably saw this crossover coming a mile away.

**Secrets Within the Mind**

While on a case, Aaron Hotchner came across the name Bobby Singer. Bobby ran a salvage yard and was well known in the local area for his interest in occult lore. At first, Hotch dismissed the idea of such a man actually being useful to him. After all, he knew about Bobby for a long time before he was assigned to the BAU. However, after the attempt on Reid's life at FBI headquarters, Hotch knows drastic measures are required. Garcia's research has only been able to bring them so far. Mind-reading children isn't something that usually gets reported, and those that do rarely fit Reid's profile.

So when a case brings them out to Bobby's neck of the woods, Hotch takes the opportunity to ask some questions. He takes Reid with him. Reid's excited about the visit. Hotch can't really blame him. He knows the youngest wants answers as much as the rest of the team. The others stay behind at the hotel. It's been a hell of a case. They need the break. Besides, he doesn't want to intimidate the man.

He chuckles at some of the statistics Reid quotes as they pull into the salvage yard. "I'm surprised you know that kind of stuff." he says.

Reid grins. "I like statistics. Doesn't matter the subject."

"You do know 73 % of statistics are made up on the spot."

Reid laughs. "I call bullshit on that." They get out of the car and approach Bobby's front door. Hotch knocks. Reid glances around them. "Think we'll need our badges?"

"I doubt it. This isn't FBI business." Hotch murmurs. He waits for a moment. As he's about to knock again, the door opens. A short, stocky man with a baseball cap looks up at them with slightly suspicious eyes. "Are you Bobby Singer?"

"Depends on who's asking."

Reid chuckles. Hotch barely smiles. "I'm Aaron Hotchner, this is my friend Spencer Reid. We were hoping you could answer a few questions for us."

"Yer FBI. Damn, what have I gotten into this time." Bobby sighs and steps back. "Sure, come in. Doubt I can answer anything for ya anyway. I don't keep track of what goes on in town very often."

"We're not here on FBI business." Reid says. He looks around at the massive collection of books that lay in piles around the house. He's pretty sure this isn't even the most of Bobby's collection. "We actually have some questions about a personal matter for us."

Now Bobby's definitely suspicious. "A personal matter?"

Hotch is the one who finally asks it. "What do you know about mind readers?"

Bobby sighs. "Not a lot. Most of the true psychics I've run across have also been demon possessed, and the others require some kind of ritual to make their gig work. Don't ask – it's a long story. Why? You know a psychic?" He watches the two carefully.

Hotch hesitates. _Do you want to tell him?_

_Might as well._ Reid says. _What's the worst he can do? Laugh at me?_ He steps forward and offers his hand to Bobby. "I'm the mind reader, so to speak." Bobby shakes his hand slowly. Reid grins. "You believe in demons, but you have a hard time believing me. It's because I'm FBI – you figure they would have found out and called me mentally unfit. I wouldn't have gotten this far. I got good at hiding it, though."

Bobby's eyes widen. "Damn. Yer good, kid." He pauses. "What else do you know?"

"Only what you think about." Reid says gamely. "Think about something there's no way I could know. Make it good – I'm a profiler."

Hotch stands there with a small smirk on his face as he watches Bobby struggle to come up with something. It's always a treat to see Reid comfortable enough to show off. Bobby has passed the test – Reid trusts him with this. Hotch follows his lead. Finally, Bobby nods. "Okay. Read my mind now."

Reid does. "Your wife became possessed by a demon, and you killed her in self-defense. You didn't know about demons back then. You just thought she'd gone crazy. Now you blame yourself. It's how you became a hunter." He tilts his head to the side. "Do all hunters have such tragic starts?"

There's almost a hint of tears in Bobby's eyes, but he quickly blinks them away. "Would ya go hunting these things unless you had a personal reason?" he says darkly. Reid simply shrugs and glances at Hotch. Hotch knows what he's thinking. They volunteer to hunt down human demons all the time. Maybe Reid would have done what Bobby does willingly, if he had known they exist.

Hotch decides there's been enough show and tell. "What can you tell us?"

"Not a lot. This is a little new to me." Bobby admits. "I can see what's in the books and call you later, or I could call a friend and find out now."

"Sooner would be better." Hotch agrees.

Bobby nods and looks up at the ceiling. "Castiel! I could use a favor if you've got a minute!"

Reid looks up as well. "Is he upstairs?"

"Kind of." Bobby smirks.

"What kind of favor do you need?" The voice behind Reid and Hotch startle them. Hotch's hand automatically drops down to where his gun should be, but he left that in the car. He's still trying to figure out where this new man in a trench coat came from when Reid takes a hesitant step forward.

_Reid!_

_He's not going to hurt us._ Reid assures him. _He's just not human. He startled me._ Hotch watches as Reid walks right up to this newcomer and looks him over. Castiel returns the gesture. Reid grins. "I've never met an angel before."

Hotch inhales sharply. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. It's not just his belief – he feels _different_ from others. I can feel his – is it Grace? Is that what you call it?" Hotch can feel Reid's excitement building, and usually he would say something to cut the younger man off before he started babbling, but this time he simply stands there and watches. He wants to see how Castiel will react, now that he knows they aren't in any danger.

Bobby simply watches them. "So – ya know what he is?" he asks expectantly.

"He's a Reader." Castiel says. He offers a slight bow. "I am honored to meet you."

Reid blushes. "I'm not that special." he protests.

"More than you know." Castiel looks at Hotch, and suddenly Hotch realizes that the angel can read him just as easily as Reid can. It's an odd feeling. He's not sure he likes it. Castiel's lips twitch in a smile. "You can awaken people, Spencer Reid. That makes you extremely unique."

Bobby pinches the bridge of his nose. "Once more for the slow section, Cas – what's a Reader?"

"Human psychics. They are born with their abilities instead of being gifted them." Castiel explains. The entire time he never looks away from Reid and Hotch. "Spencer Reid is unique. He is the only Reader who can turn others into Readers. He's done it with his team."

"It's limited." Hotch starts to explain, but Castiel cuts him off with a wave of his hand.

"It doesn't matter. There is no limit to the number of people Spencer can awaken." Castiel fixes him with a hard stare. "Do you know what that means, Aaron Hotchner? Do you know what could happen to this world if more people like Spencer existed? The world would become a better place, more peaceful. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be _better_."

Hotch nods. "Reid is the proof of concept. He's the one that shows it can be done."

"Exactly. That puts him in more danger than you can imagine."

Bobby nods. "I'm sure the demons won't want peace on earth and goodwill towards men." he mutters. Castiel nods agreement.

Reid stands there, staring at them all like they've all grown second heads. "I'm not that special."

_You are to us. That's all that matters._ "So – how do we protect him?" he asks Castiel. "I don't think I have to tell you that we aren't equipped to deal with demons."

"I can take care of that." Castiel approaches Reid and raises his hand. "May I?" Reid nods, and Castiel presses two fingers to Reid's forehead. For a moment, Hotch thinks he can see a glow around his youngest, but then it's gone and Castiel backs away. "That marks him as under my protection. No demon should mess with him now."

Hotch breathes a small sigh of relief. "Thank you." They have enough issues with human unsubs.

Castiel nods. "You should keep a low profile. Most hunters don't know there's such a thing as human psychics. They'll think you're a monster. All of you."

"Can you protect them too?" Reid asks. Castiel smiles faintly.

"As long as you're protected, so will they be." With that he vanishes with a rustle of wings.

Suddenly Hotch realizes what has just happened. "I just made a deal with an angel to protect my agents from demons. What the hell."

"Welcome to our world." Bobby says with a small smirk.

Suddenly Reid starts laughing. Hotch glares at him. "It's not that funny."

"No – just think. We get to tell Morgan we met an angel!"

Hotch can't help it. He starts laughing too.

/-/

AN: It may be unrealistic, but you'll notice that none of the team has ever said that demons don't exist, only that they're not their issue. And as far as I'm aware, none of them have claimed to be not-religious. So this crossover seemed to come naturally for the Shadows Within world. Let me know what you think. I'll try to keep the Supernatural interference to a minimum.


End file.
